clatter

American  

[klat-er] / ˈklæt ər /

verb (used without object)

clatters, present (3rd person singular) clattered, past participle, past clattering present participle

1. to make a loud, rattling sound, as that produced by hard objects striking rapidly one against the other.

   The shutters clattered in the wind.

2. to move rapidly with such a sound.

   The iron-wheeled cart clattered down the street.

3. to talk fast and noisily; chatter.

   They clattered on and on about their children.

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verb (used with object)

clatters, present (3rd person singular) clattered, past participle, past clattering present participle

1. to cause to clatter.

   clattering the pots and pans in the sink.

noun

1. a rattling noise or series of rattling noises.

   The stagecoach made a terrible clatter going over the wooden bridge.

2. noisy disturbance; din; racket.

3. noisy talk; din of voices.

   They had to shout over the clatter at the cocktail party.

4. idle talk; gossip.

clatter British  

/ ˈklætə /

verb

1. to make or cause to make a rattling noise, esp as a result of movement

2. (intr) to chatter

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noun

1. a rattling sound or noise

2. a noisy commotion, such as one caused by loud chatter

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• clatterer
  noun
• clattery
  adjective
• clatteringly
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Participles

• clattering
  present
• clattered
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• clatter
  simple
• clatters
  simple
• have clattered
  perfect
• has clattered
  perfect
• am clattering
  progressive
• are clattering
  progressive
• is clattering
  progressive
• have been clattering
  perfect progressive
• has been clattering
  perfect progressive

Past

• clattered
  simple
• had clattered
  perfect
• was clattering
  progressive
• were clattering
  progressive
• had been clattering
  perfect progressive

Future

• will clatter
  simple
• will have clattered
  perfect
• will be clattering
  progressive
• will have been clattering
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of clatter

before 1050; Middle English clateren, Old English clatr- (in clatrunge ); cognate with Dutch klateren to rattle; see -er ⁶

Explanation

A clatter is a clacking or rattling sound, like the clatter of horse hooves on pavement or the clatter of toys being thrown down a wooden staircase by an angry child. Clatter is also a verb, meaning "to make a continuous rattling or clanking sound." You might clatter down the school hallway in your clogs, or watch your dogs clatter across a frozen pond, their toenails clicking on the ice. Clatter comes from the Old English onomatopoeic clatrung, "a clattering," or simply "noise."

Example Sentences

“Couture’s” three principals rarely interact with one another, but those meaningful exchanges argue that, amid the mad clatter of the everyday, a brief, unguarded moment with a stranger can be supremely restorative.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 26, 2026

There’s Mrs. Duggan’s sitting room, for example, with its “faint, high whistling of the gas fire”; and “the weary clatter of half-hearted washing-up” in a depressing cafe.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 24, 2026

Aromatics are where things begin: ginger, garlic, onions and their cousins; the soft clatter of mirepoix or soffritto; a bloom of spices warming in fat.

From Salon • Feb. 8, 2026

A nationwide noise ordinance is supposed to limit the din, especially late at night, but residents say the courtside clatter often goes unmuted.

From Barron's • Dec. 28, 2025

The neighbor downstairs had been awakened by the clatter of their shoes on the floor.

From "How the García Girls Lost Their Accents" by Julia Alvarez

Related Words

• clang
• hurtle